By Appointment Only
by deanangst
Summary: Jim sits in on a lecture and meets a friend of Blairs.


By Appointment Only

Disclaimer: Well if I said they were mine, you'd know I was an *obfuscater*. So they're not mine. They belong to pet fly. But I enjoy playing with them. I hope you like the story!

Written 10/20/1997… in a galaxy far far away (my sisters house…before I owned a computer)

The radio came on at 6:00am, the way it had every morning since Sandburg had moved into the loft. At first, the fact that Jim too was awakened by the alarm annoyed Ellison, but as time had passed Jim began to rely on the morning ritual. As he lay there, Jim turned his hearing up a notch and listened to the sounds downstairs. The alarm was silenced quickly, only to be replaced by a half moan, half whine from Blair, as he pulled himself out of the bed. Jim heard a shuffling sound as Blair made his way to the dresser for clean clothes, then head to the bathroom. Jim smiled expectantly and waited. He heard the water come on, and was rewarded with a not so quiet yelp from Blair, when the still cold water hit him. 

Twenty minutes later the bathroom door opened. The loft was filled with the smell of soap and shampoo. The scent was quickly replaced by that of coffee. The smell was too much for Jim to ignore so he pulled himself out of bed and dressed in a pair of sweatpants before heading downstairs. Blair was sitting at the bar, cup of coffee in one hand and a pen in the other. Jim entered the kitchen, found his favorite mug and poured himself a cup of the steaming liquid he knew would bring him to life. After drinking half the cup he topped it off again then took a seat across from Blair at the bar. 

The morning paper was waiting for him, Jim was surprised to find it untouched. Normally Blair *read* it first. Which meant he checked the headlines and Jags score before reading the entire comics section. 'Whatever the kid is writing it must be important.' Jim thought to himself. 

"What are you doing Chief?" Jim finally asked, when Blair didn't look up. 

"Just trying to get my thoughts together before this morning's lecture." Blair said absently and continued to write, then suddenly he looked up. "Hey man, what are you doing up? I thought you were taking the day off. I didn't wake you did I?" 

"No Chief, Just force of habit I guess." Jim lied, then took another sip of coffee and began to read his paper. 

Blair nodded, then went back to writing. "So, what are you going to do today?" 

"I don't know, It's been so long since I've had a day off I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. I guess I'll just stay around here and relax." Jim replied. 

Blair looked over the top of his glasses at Jim and shook his head before returning to his work. 

"What's that all about?" Jim asked when he saw the look from his roommate. 

"I'll bet you lunch that you won't make it until noon." Blair said. 

"You don't think I can hang around here and relax all day?" 

"Face it man, you can't even sit still during a movie, by 10:00am you'll be wishing that Simon would call you in. You know I'm right man. The only time your happy is when you're out saving someone." Blair said smiling. 

"I wouldn't complain Chief, It's usually your butt I'm saving." Jim said, returning the smile. 

"I'm not complaining, just stating facts." Looking up at the clock, Blair noticed that it was almost 7:30; he would have to hurry to catch the morning bus. Getting up from the bar, he took his empty cup to the sink, and then retrieved his backpack from his room. Blair stopped long enough to place the notebook, he had been writing in, inside the pack before heading to the door. 

Something outside caught Jim's attention "I'd take a coat with you, I just heard thunder." he called out to Blair. Blair gave Jim a disgusted look, but grabbed his coat before leaving the loft. 

After putting his dishes away Jim headed upstairs, hoping to get a few more hours sleep now that he had the place to himself. Jim had just laid down when the sound of rain hitting the windows made him smile, 'This will be good.' He thought to himself, knowing that the sound of the rain would lull him into a peaceful slumber. Then it hit him, Jim had picked Blair up at the University the day before. Which meant that the kid had three choices on how to get to work, cab, bus, or to ask Jim for a ride. Jim remembered hearing the bus run before Blair left the house, and he knew that Blair didn't have the money for a cab. So for the second time that morning, Jim pulled himself from his bed and got dressed. Five minutes passed and Blair hadn't returned, that's when Jim realized that the kid must have decided to walk. Jim knew that Blair was just trying to give him some much needed time off. But he didn't have to make himself sick doing it. 'With the kid's luck he'll catch pneumonia.' Jim thought to himself as he put on his shoes and grabbed his coat, before leaving the apartment. 

It took a few minutes to get the old Ford to come to life but soon he was on his way. The sidewalks were filled with people despite the nasty weather, but Jim had no trouble spotting his friend. Jim honked the horn as pulled the truck to the side of the street. Blair looked over and smiled before heading over, opening the passenger side door he leaned inside. 

"What are you doing here man?" Blair asked. 

"Get in and shut the door, you are letting the rain inside." Jim said flatly. 

Blair climbed inside the truck and shut the door. Once Jim had pulled the truck back into traffic he heard Blair softly chuckle. 

"What's so funny Chief?" 

"You couldn't even make it thirty minutes before you had to come save me." Blair said motioning to the truck. 

"Listen Sandburg, I just thought you might like to make it to work dry, but if you prefer the rain I'll let you out and you can walk." Jim said as he pretended to pull the truck over. 

"That's ok man, but you know a little rain never hurt anyone." 

"Rain no, but you wake me up in the middle of the night, coughing and sneezing, and I just might." Jim replied, cutting Blair an evil look. Blair rolled his eyes and smiled. 

Soon they reached the University. Jim pulled the truck as close as he could to the entrance of the building. Blair was gathering his things and reaching for the door handle when Jim spoke. "Well it looks like I owe you lunch, what time should I pick you up?" He asked. 

"Noon." Blair replied before slamming the truck door and heading inside the building. 

Jim hated to admit it but Blair had been right, by 10:00am Jim was going nuts. He had been sitting on the couch, channel surfin', but the only thing on TV was talk shows and infomercials. Disgusted, Jim threw the remote control onto the coffee table. 'Maybe I can just hang out at the university and wait for him.' With that thought in mind, Jim left the loft and headed to the University. 

The ride to the University had taken nearly thirty minutes due to the rain and traffic accidents. Jim had just parked the truck, when he saw something in the passenger side floor board. Reaching over, he picked up the item and noticed that it was the notebook that Blair had been writing in that morning. Blair had once told Jim, that he used the notebook during his lectures. Just in case he forgot what it was he wanted to say. Somehow Jim could not imagine Blair at a loss for words. Knowing that Blair relied on the book as a *security blanket* Jim knew that he had a perfect excuse for his early arrival.

Jim checked Blair's office first, not finding his friend there; he headed in the direction of the classrooms. On his way he *overheard* two maintenance men discussing an electrical problem. It seemed that at least once a month one of the classroom breakers would suddenly cut off, and no matter what they tried, the stupid thing wouldn't reset. Until suddenly, at night, it would reset itself. Jim tuned the workers out, and let himself listen for Blair's voice. He found it easily and followed it, until he was standing outside the door. Quietly Jim opened the door, the room inside was dark, but his eyes quickly adjusted to the lack of light. Jim took a seat in the rear of the room. Blair was describing one of the villages that he had visited while in Peru. Jim was surprised to see how the students seemed to be so focused on what Blair was saying. Then Jim's attention turned back to Blair. There was something different about the kid. An air of authority in his voice that Jim had never heard before. Jim had always known that Blair was good at what he did, but he had never realized just how good. Jim found himself zoning out on the voice, when a movement beside him brought him back.

He turned to see a woman sitting next to him; it surprised him that he hadn't noticed her come in. The woman smiled politely at Jim then looked toward Blair. A few minutes later she spoke quietly. "He's amazing isn't he? I find myself here quite often, just listening to him lecture. He not only understands what he is talking about, but he has the ability to make others understand. Not many professors have that talent. We can talk, but not many can reach their students with their words." Her words had been spoken in a whisper, as if the sound of her voice would somehow break the spell that Blair's voice was casting over the room.

The lecture ended a few minutes later, but when Jim looked over to where the woman had sat, she was gone.

"Ok guys, don't forget the test next week, so if you have any questions, now's the time to ask." Blair said, and when no seemed to have any, he spoke again."Ok, in that case consider yourselves free to go." Blair turned to gather his things as the class emptied.

"Hey chief, what's with the lights?"Jim asked stopping behind Blair.

Blair jumped at the sound of Jim's voice."Don't sneak up on me like that." Blair said giving Jim an evil look before continuing. "The breakers are off, nothing to worry about."

Jim nodded, remembering the maintenance men. "So, you ready to get something to eat?"

"Sure, just let me drop my things off at the office."

*****

Once they reached Blairs' office, Blair noticed a scent of perfume in the air. A smile played on his lips as he set his things down.

"That's strange, I don't remember smelling perfume when I was here before."Jim said.

"Lynn must have come by to see me...you smell the perfume?"Blair asked.

"Yeah, it smells like some my grandmother use to wear. I've never heard you mention Lynn before, is she new?" Jim asked.

"No, she use to teach here." Blair said.

"Oh, by the way Chief, I found this in the truck." Jim said handing Blair the note book.

Thanks man." Blair took the notebook and placed it on his desk with the rest of his things before grabbing his coat, and following Jim to the truck.

"Chief, does Lynn have brown hair?"Jim asked.

"Yeah, she does..."

"I think I saw here today, I remember smelling the perfume when a woman sat beside me during the lecture. She seemed really nice, and she thinks a lot of you. Have you asked her out?"

"Uh, no man. Lynn's kind of unavailable,... You saw her?" Blair asked.

Jim saw the strange look on Blair's face, as if he couldn't believe what Jim was saying. "She was kind of hard to miss Blair, she was sitting right beside me."

Blair nodded slowly then turned to look out the window.

*****

After a quick lunch at a hamburger place, near campus, they headed back to the University. "So Chief, just how unavailable is this Lynn anyway?"

"Pretty unavailable Jim...If I were you, I'd forget about her." Blair replied.

'The kids acting strange even for him.' Jim thought to himself. As they neared Blair's office, Jim noticed a light coming from under the door. "Hey Chief, I think someone's in your office." Blair seemed to notice the light also. Jim heard the kid's heart begin to speed up. "Didn't you lock the door?" Jim asked suddenly in full cop mode.

"Uh, listen Jim..."Blair began, but before he could finish, Jim had pulled his gun and thrown the office door open, only to be greeted by an empty room.

Blair grabbed Jim's arm. "Hey, put that away, you're going to scare her."

"Scare who? Theres no one here." Jim said but he put his gun back into its holster.

"No one." Blair said, but he continued to look around the room.

"Something's bothering you Sandburg, what is it."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you man."Blair said. Running his hands through his hair he took a seat at his desk.

"Why don't you try me?" Jim said taking the seat across from Blair.

Blair took a deep breath and began. "Well it started right after I began to teach. The university gave me this office. And I noticed that things were getting moved around."

"How could you tell."Jim asked looking around the room at the papers that covered every inch of space.

Blair cut him a look then continued. "Then one day I saw someone that was not there... I thought that it was just because I had been working so many late hours, but it kept happening. Then one day I was in the administrative building, and I saw her picture on the wall."

"Who's picture?" Jim asked.

"Lynn's"

"What's so unusual about that, you said that she taught here." Jim said.

" Yeah. She taught here in 1947. Lynn died here in my office, her office, fifty years ago. She was only thirty years old." Blair was up now pacing around the room.

"So you think that there is a poor soul, that doesn't know she's dead, haunting the place. Chief, I think you've been watching too many late night movies." Jim said trying to hide a smile.

Blair pitched a book onto Jim's lap. "Is that the woman you saw this morning?"

Jim looked at the picture, and the smile slowly left his face. When he didn't speak, Blair continued. "Like I was saying, strange things were happening. Then one day, during class, the lights went off and I saw a glow at the back of the room. Strangely, I wasn't afraid. I wanted to meet her. And after class when I returned to my office, she was waiting for me. Lynn has been visiting once a month ever since."

"Do you know when she is coming?" Jim asked.

"No, it's not like she makes an appointment." Blair answered.

Suddenly Jim felt like he was being watched, he didn't want to be in the room any longer. "Chief, why don't we finish this conversation on the way home."

"That sounds good man." Blair said, while gathering his things.

They were almost to the truck when Blair remembered his lecture notebook. "Hey man I forgot something. I'll be right back." Blair ran back to his office, only to find the notebook open on his desk, and there in red were the words...

November 17th, see you then.  
Lynn

Blair smiled, and picked up the notebook.

Once inside the truck, Blair said quietly "Goodnight Lynn." He saw the lights of his class room come on, through the open windows.

THE END


End file.
